I salute your message using this quote. You are one of the most caring, principled, and optimistic persons I have ever had the pleasure of encountering in life. I know what you’re saying, and am inspired by it. And since this is an open blog, I trust you’ll bear with me as I use your quote while changing the subject completely. 😉

It just SO reminded me of an NPR piece I heard last week about the current horrible (devastating?) drought in California. While in a figurative or poetic sense a flower may grow from every drop of rain, I was shocked to learn a little something about how much water farmers truly need in order to feed us!

So, considering how heavily we depend on California for the food we eat in the USA (though I’m not sure how many Americans appreciate that fact), the drought out there is getting seriously scary for ALL of us! Here’s a snip from the NPR transcript:

MONTAGNE: It really is the farmers market of the country.

SANDOVAL: Yeah, we really produce 50 percent of most of the produce and 90 percent of the grapes, broccoli, almonds and walnuts.

MONTAGNE: And give us the range of the amount of water that’s needed for these different crops because, for instance, I understand cotton to need quite a bit of water.

SANDOVAL: Yes, I mean, one walnut is about five gallons, one pistachio about one gallon of water or one almond, one gallon. A pound of blueberries uses 48 gallons.

MONTAGNE: Forty-eight gallons?

SANDOVAL: Yeah.

MONTAGNE: That’s stunning.

SANDOVAL: Yes. This is kind of the water footprint, and I think that is the main issue here.

ONE pound of blueberries needs 48 gallons of water?! Looks like I might not be able to make my favorite pie for several years, if the water situation doesn’t improve in California — and that’s just a LUXURY food that I enjoy only once a year!

The California drought is very worrisome, to me. And it should be to most of us, IMHO.

I feel so blessed by your kindness. You just gave me a boost to keep on going along the path. This is what is so beautiful about community and friendship…we support and refresh each other . This is what you have done for me.

I have also been so concerned about the drought in California, but until you just now educated me, I had no idea how much water is needed to grow our food!

I think I heard something about Carlsbad and others are creating desalination plants. Have you heard anything about this?

It sure makes sense, though. Much like I’ve thought about energy generation potential every time I’ve gone to the beach and marveled humbly at the incredible and ceaseless power of the ocean touching our collective doorsteps.

I don’t know that we’ll have any alternative to desalination in the future, though, if we can’t rely on a climate that produces enough snow and rain to sustain us. My guess is that desalination is expensive – which could mean that water becomes a commodity that is increasingly expensive and, thus, disproportionately accessible in our capitalistic society.

(PS – For better or worse, I don’t tend to be among the strongest optimists here – which is why I appreciate hearing from you all and hanging on your every word!)

Hello its been a while. I’m trying to enter a new career so I haven’t commented on several things. Xena,I hope you and others are doing as well as one can be. Anyway,while its good to see Slager arrested,indicted and given the top charge(murder),we need to keep up efforts. The dashcam vid is being used by those who want Slager cleared of murder. Namely Trayvon Martin adversary Geraldo Rivera.

As for Off Brelo,Would a person who feared for his life get on top of a car and fire into the windshield? In case you need to see what that looks like ,here’s a reminder. Watch 1;37-1:41

Chuquestaque! It’s good to see your fonts. Here’s wishing you the best on your new career. Thanks for taking time to participate here. I missed you.

The dashcam vid is being used by those who want Slager cleared of murder. Namely Trayvon Martin adversary Geraldo Rivera.

They see what is not there, speculate using bigotvoyant “gifts” for why Walter ran, and want to dox Walter’s passenger.

As for Off Brelo,Would a person who feared for his life get on top of a car and fire into the windshield?

No, a person who feared for his life would not do that, and they certainly would not wait until all the other officers stopped shooting to come from behind the safety of his vehicle to do so. From what I can gather of Brelo’s defense, he’s saying that he did not get on the hood of the Chevy and fire the fatal shots. Last week, the prosecution presented expert witnesses to testify of the direction the bullets came from, the footprints on the hood, etc. The judge went to the scene.

I believe that with more of society becoming a filming one and with more body cams, we will see less needless acts of violence against unarmed civilians.

But also there are stories in which simple investigations can go horribly wrong as in the case of Cottonwood, AZ. In this one, what should have been a simple call which most likely would have amounted in little to no action being taken turned into an assault on the officers when they tried to question members of the family separately for their story on what happened in the store. One member of the family was killed and another shot along with a police officer being shot after his gun was taken by the one who was killed.

I read where complaints of police abuse dropped by 88% in Rialto California when all of their police were outfitted with body cameras.

I believe now that so many incidents have happened and brought police abuse to the eyes of America that more police departments are starting to take these cases seriously. And it proves what we’ve been saying all along. There is no more denying it.

Gronda, “crazy” is right. IMHO, no matter what the cops could have done, that family was intended on fighting. There is something about that family that indicates learned behavior because when tasers were used, they knew to roll to stop the current and break the connections. Those guys were “practiced” and probably part of some anti-cop, anti-government survival group.

I don’t know — after reading about what started in the restroom, I get the impression that the family believed they were to protect each other under any and all circumstances. I’ve met people who believe that they are called by God to do something, and they answer to no one other than God. As more is reported on their arrests and defenses, I’ll bet you a pizza delivered by a restaurant in your area, that they raise a religious right defense.

Before the Gaver family was arrested for its reported involvement in a fatal melee and officer-involved shooting at a Cottonwood Walmart, the family performed on the streets of Boise, Idaho, as a religious band, authorities said.

The band’s name, Matthew 24 Now, apparently refers to the second coming of Christ. A Facebook page identifies the members as Peter Gaver and his sons, Jeremiah and Nathan. It chronicles the band’s “busking,” or performing in public for tips, and relates some of its experiences.

But there was no apparent hint of any previous violence involving the family, which advertised their acoustic band on a web site and chronicled their adventures on a Facebook page.

The Matthew 24 Now page includes an Aug. 9, 2014, entry that quotes the Bible and reads as:

“For those who are mind controlled: who don’t own their mind/soul any longer, there is only one hope. Trust Yahweh with all your heart and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straights. Proverbs 3, 5, 6.”

Trust Yahweh with all your heart and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straights. Proverbs 3, 5, 6

That is from Proverbs 3:5-6. The first part is not in the Bible and is neither a translation from any Bible that I know of. It appears that the “mind controlled” part is to appeal to people involved in cults. “Busking” is a matter of free speech, and the Gavers might have prepared to protect themselves for a time when they would be challenged for “busking” in a public place.

“Cottonwood Police Chief Jody Fanning showed the video during a news conference Friday morning and said no matter what tactics officers used, nothing appeared to deter the family of eight…..

“The family utilized tactics that had to be “taught,” Fanning said. For instance, they knew that punching officers on the body was futile because of their protective vests. Instead, the fought officers by grabbing at their eyes, ears and mouths and pulling hard.

“They also had been taught to roll after they were shot with stun guns in order to break the wires and stop the shock, and to appear to give up by putting their hands in the air in order to get close to attack again.”

“They also had been taught to roll after they were shot with stun guns in order to break the wires and stop the shock, and to appear to give up by putting their hands in the air in order to get close to attack again.

Yahtzee, that family knows how to fight and what’s more, they know how to circumvent the effect of non-lethal weapons used by law enforcement. Know how some cops involved in shootings say that the suspect went for their weapon so they got to it first and shot? Well, that family disarmed a cop!!

The Washington Post and researchers at Bowling Green State University conducted research and analysis of thousands of officer involved fatal shooting since 2005. They found that only 54 officers have been charged.

“Among the officers charged since 2005 for fatal shootings, more than three-quarters were white. Two-thirds of their victims were minorities, all but two of them black”

“Of the 54 officers who were charged for fatally shooting someone while on duty over the past decade, 35 have had their cases resolved. Of those, a majority — 21 officers — were acquitted or saw their charges dropped”

Mindyme,
Yes. The Kelly Thomas beating was the worst caught on camera, followed by the Rodney King beating, and they are also the worst demonstration of justice denied. There have been beatings that left victims paralyzed, but they were not caught on camera.

Texas lawmakers are on the brink of passing “open carry” gun legislation that critics say will put the public at risk.

The Texas House voted 96-35 to provisionally approve the bill in Austin on Friday night. It will allow firearms owners in Texas who have concealed handgun permits – some 850,000 people – to openly carry their weapons in public in a hip or shoulder holster.